Why Christians feel growing threats under Israel?!

By Wadie Abunassar

Several radical right-wing Jews recorded today settling inside a property of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem on Mount Zion (Jerusalem), and when those were asked to leave, they made threats and behaved as if being the landlords. And when the police were approached on this issue, it claimed that the area is defined as “open public place”, which means that everybody could sit there!

Yesterday, Father Nikodemus Schnabel, the Abbot of the Benedictine Order in the Holy Land, was asked to remove the cross from his chest while accompanying a German minister in visiting the “Wailing Wall” at the Old City of Jerusalem, an act that was rejected not only by Father Schnabel but by people, especially Christians worldwide.

Two days ago, a group of Orthodox Jews arrived around 3:30 AM to Stella Maris Monastery in Haifa and held some noise “provocative visit”, following similar visits that were held by other Orthodox Jews to the same Monastery in the past few months, a fact that annoyed the Christian community; and when police were approached, they claimed: “there is no offense, since it is an open area”!

These are only few of tens of incidents targeting Christians and Christian holy sites in recent years, especially in recent months, in Israel and Israel-ruled areas, such as occupied East Jerusalem. The Israeli police closed investigations into the vast majority of these incidents “for failing to find the suspects”!!!

What the Israeli police don’t understand (or don’t want to understand) is that its behavior is causing growing mistrust not only in it but in the state of Israel in general, in the eyes of many, locally and internationally, especially in eyes of vast majority of Christian citizens of Israel.

Those ask four main questions on police performance with regard to incidents targeting Christians, mostly by suspected Jewish perpetrators:

• Why the Israeli security systems succeed to easily find those who commit attacks on Jews, especially if attackers are Arabs, while they “fail” to find Jewish suspects who attack non-Jews, including “friendly” Christians!
• Why when capturing a Jewish suspect in attacking a Christian property, many Israeli officials rush to argue as if “this is an insignificant case” or “insane person”?
• Why when indicting a Jew in attacking Christian person or property, the indictment is usually very weak, and the sentence comes very light, and as such, not bringing any serious deterrence?
• How would the Israeli authorities behave if similar attacks take place against Jews in a foreign country?

In sum, the trust in the Israeli police in specific, the Israeli authorities in general, seems to be vanishing, at least in the eyes of most Christian citizens of Israel, but also in the eyes of some Jews, who are concerned not only on fate of the judicial system under the current radical right wing government, but also who are concerned that undeterred radical Jews who attack Christians and Christian properties would not only damage the image of the State of Israel internationally, but would contribute to growing hatred to Jews worldwide.

But it is important to mention, the problems facing Christians in Israel-ruled areas are not limited to attacks and incidents committed by some religious Jews, since these Christians suffer from systematic discrimination and mounting problems by many of the Israeli authorities, and negligence and lack of care by most of the other authorities.

First, the vast majority of Christians in Israel are from Palestinian origin, and as such, alike other Palestinian citizens (so-called “Israeli Arabs”) they suffer from systematic discrimination in being citizens in the “Jewish state”. This discrimination is reflected in many fields, such as in confiscation of lands, inequality in funding, insufficient integration at top echelons, etc.

Second, despite the presence of tens of Christian schools in Israel, which serve about 4% of the pupils in Israel (while the percentage of Christian pupils are less than 2%), these schools suffer from systematic discrimination in budgeting from the Education Ministry. This reality led to a major strike in the year 2015, and to a tough letter, which was sent some days ago to Education Minister, complaining on discrimination and demanding improved funding.

Third, some Israeli municipalities, such as that of Jerusalem, imposed in recent years sanctions on some church institutions at the argument as if those shall pay municipal tax (known also as “Arnona”). This step came in contrast to the signed “Fundamental Agreement” between the Holy See and the State of Israel in 1993, which suggested to keep the tax exemption to church bodies until a new fiscal agreement between the two sides enter into effect.

Instead of seeing the national Israeli authorities pressing the municipalities to refrain and/or backtrack actions against church bodies, some of these authorities, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, seem as if turning blind eye on these actions!

Above all, except of some Israeli scholars and activists, Israeli officials seem to be divided into two main groups when addressing challenges facing Christians in Israel-ruled areas: the vast majority of officials seems as if not caring at all, while few officials, such as President Yitzhak Herzog and the Foreign Affairs Ministry and some other junior officials, especially at the Interior Ministry, seem as if caring, but the impact of those in minimizing the challenges is questionable, if not insignificant!

Simultaneously, Israeli officials continue to argue: “conditions of Christians in Israel are the best in the Middle East”. This argument is partially true, and one could argue that conditions of Christians in some Arab countries, such as Jordan, are not worse than those of Christians in Israel. However, Israeli officials, who insist to call their country “the only democracy” in the Middle East, must not compare their country to dictatorships, but to other democracies.

These officials must understand that for many, if not most, Christian citizens of Israel, Israel could be better than most dictatorships, but it is certainly worse than the vast majority of democracies, at least when come to talk on dealing with non-Jewish citizens, including Christians!